Relationship dossier
Kuwait
Serbia
Relationship assessment
Practical cooperation alongside disagreement over Kosovo
Kuwait toward Serbia
+10Kuwait supported Serbian infrastructure through a Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development loan for water and sanitation works. Kuwait’s recognition of Kosovo conflicts with Serbia’s position on Kosovo’s status.
Serbia toward Kuwait
+15Serbia has cooperated with Kuwait on bilateral economic and other government ties, including arrangements associated with Kuwait-backed infrastructure financing. Serbia opposes Kuwait’s recognition of Kosovo.
Overall relationship
+10The relationship includes concrete economic cooperation, notably Kuwait-backed financing for Serbian water and sanitation infrastructure, alongside a serious political disagreement over Kuwait’s recognition of Kosovo. These features support a broadly cooperative but qualified bilateral relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Kuwait and Serbia have maintained government cooperation, including a Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development loan supporting water and sanitation infrastructure in Serbia. Kuwait’s recognition of Kosovo is a significant point of disagreement with Serbia, which rejects Kosovo’s independence. The relationship therefore combines practical cooperation with a consequential political tension.
Areas of tension
- Kuwait’s recognition of Kosovo, which Serbia opposes.
Key developments
Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development financing supported water and sanitation infrastructure in Serbia.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation beyond the infrastructure financing are unclear.
- The extent to which Kosovo-related disagreement affects other areas of government cooperation is unclear.